Side Chair
Culture
American
Date1740–1770
Mediumwalnut and pine
Dimensions96.5 cm (38 in.)
ClassificationsFurniture
Credit LineGift of Stephen Salisbury III
Object number1907.96
DescriptionThis Queen Anne style splat-back chair is all curves and few sharp angles. The center splat is solid with some scarring on the anterior surface, and cut to mirror the form of the two spindles that arch up from two jutting "hips," creating rounded shoulders that join to the splat below the carved shell decoration, popular in New England at this time. The splat is inserted into the shoe, which is beveled and with a single beading line across the top edge and is continuous with the seat rail. The stiles are continuous with the rear Stump legs, the interior corners of which are chamfered. The rear legs are carved with rectangular protrusions to support the joints where they are mortise and tenoned. This gives the chair a slightly cantered profile. The seat is trapezoidal with a replacement upolstered cushion, and the anterior corners are carefully rounded with a secured join above each knee that unites the exterior seat rails. Ogee knee blocks support the front legs on either side of the knee. These S-shaped cabriole legs have shell, pearl, and flourish decorative carvings on the knees, which is found in Boston furniture as well as Newport furniture. However, the ball and claw front feet have a webbing between each toe, which leans more heavily towards a Newport maker. The slender, almost diamond-shaped "H" stretcher and rear stretcher are also indicative of Newport manufacture, unlike the more bulky, residual William and Mary appearance of turned Boston stretchers at this time. The mortised end of the stretched to the right front leg is loose.Label TextThe carved shell on the crest, underlined with a scrolled double S-curve, is typical of furniture made in Boston and in Newport, Rhode Island, in the eighteenth century. Both Massachusetts and Rhode Island examples were inspired by English prototypes, making them difficult to tell apart.ProvenanceStephen Salisbury III;
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